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{
    "id": 779933,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/779933/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 381,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Halake",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13184,
        "legal_name": "Abshiro Soka Halake",
        "slug": "abshiro-soka-halake"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity. Any pastoralist who does not contribute to this Bill will be in big trouble. So, I have sat here very patiently to make sure that I add my words to it. I stand to support and also congratulate Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. for this timely Bill. As you know, the previous Act under the old Constitution entrenched historical and colonial injustice for most parts of the country with regards to boundaries. Therefore, this Bill gives us a second chance to ensure that we rectify those historical injustices, especially for pastoralist communities, who for a long time did not really pay attention to boundaries and freely roam the plains of northern Kenya and other parts of Kenya. Therefore, they were very disproportionately disadvantaged by especially the old Constitution, where district boundaries were deemed to now become county boundaries. I support this Bill because it gives effect to Article 188 of the Constitution on the alteration of county boundaries. Again, given the fact that there was no mechanism in place for resolution of conflict between different counties with regard to boundaries, this is really timely especially now that we are all very cognizant of the fact that counties are our unit of service delivery, resource allocation and other advantages. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for me, more than even the contents of the Bill itself, I am very impressed with the possibilities that this Bill provides us as a country. This is in regards to boundary disputes where the Bill proposes to have an ad hoc county boundaries mechanism. It also puts timelines on the work of the Committee and, therefore, the land issues that went on for 99 years until everything lapsed and we went back to square one are going to be resolved. I like the time-bound nature of the work of these ad hoc committees. This is, therefore, very timely. The other area where I think the consequences of this Bill will help the country move forward is the scenario of the boundaries of the districts in the Districts and Provinces Act. These boundaries are deemed to be the boundaries of the corresponding counties at the moment. For us, that is an injustice that will be corrected by this Bill. For pastoralists, for instance, we keep moving from county to county with our animals and sometimes we are blind to county boundaries. That said, traditional boundaries should also be taken into consideration as we look at this Bill. The issue around resolution of boundary disputes between counties through the mediation process is such a welcome part of this Bill. Of course, the Constitution is a The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}